"He is happy at São Paulo. We have to forget this subject. There is no possibility he leaves now.

"Manchester United made an offer, which was rejected and they won’t make another one as they have reached their limit."

Ferguson revealed on Monday United had made an offer for the 20-year-old, who will play at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

"We haven't reached an agreement for the player. We've shown an interest but until such time we reach an agreement we can't say he's ours.

"We're not lying on our backsides doing nothing. We're trying hard to bring other players to the club."

For the second time in under a week the Scot took the unusual step of revealing his public interest in a player, having confirmed the Red Devils had a bid rejected for Arsenal striker Robin van Persie on Friday.